Monday, May 25, 2009

Sapper Joe 50K


Sapper Joe 50K




Wow! What a wild course. First of all the Sapper Joe 50K is a trail run that is ran/run at the Camp Williams Army National Guard base south of Salt Lake. It is a very scenic and difficult course that we were told is about 70% runnable. I think that is being awfully generous. We started right out of the parade grounds and up a firebreak for the first 5 miles and we covered 1200' in elevation. Straight up and straight down. I fell twice and did the one cheek sneak down a rocky incline. Fun. Once I got my feet back under me and going again. I tippy toed the rest of the hill and got back in the game. The next 6 were a little more runnable with a little gravel road stretch that helped me regain my rhythm. A very scenic and pretty course. I expect to see lots of destroyed ground, being that we were running through the impact area and were told to not pickup any "shiny objects". All I saw were lots of oaks, and wild flowers. The profile lived up to its description there were many nasty ups with lots of loose rocks all over. I hooked up with my new best friend Tom and we ran the last 17 together and it was real nice to have him along for the ride. The last five miles was truly all downhill and the one totally runnable section of trail. This was a very well organized race, all the aid stations had ice cold water, tons to eat and the Guard guys were awesome. That was huge on a day like we had. My goal was to stay hydrated and not puke, and with the help of the Succeed Amino and S-Caps I was able to get it done without hitch. I felt great and stayed strong through the whole race. I know now that if I stay focused and drink like I did during this race I will be fine at SP50 in two weeks. One more step towards getting it done at Wasatch. There are pictures to follow once I get them.














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